Reviews

Gran Turismo 3

Pros:

Split-screen multiplayer runs at an astonishing 60 fps with no drop-off; somewhat easier to purchase one's first car and trick it out, as the monetary restrictions have been eased somewhat.
Graphics are absolutely gorgeous; framerates are steady throughout; spectacular race track sounds.

Cons:

More variety in the racetrack selection would have been nice. The computer AI could have used some more work; a little more spontaneity and variety in the paths picked by the computer cars would have been nice.

After delay upon delay, endless innuendo, and speculation that we wouldn't see it on American shores until the fall, Gran Turismo 3 is finally here. None too soon, either, as far as PlayStation 2 owners from coast to coast are concerned. The cold, hard truth is that PS2 fans simply haven't had too much to get excited about lately. Madden 2001 was cool, but let's face it -- it's not a game that would ordinarily move units en masse. Some of the system's other solid titles since then have been games that have appeared on other platforms already -- usually in as good (or better) shape than their PS2 brethren; Crazy Taxi, Dead or Alive 2, and Fur Fighters come to mind.

Gran Turismo 3 is a beast of a slightly different nature. There are those who would argue that Gran Turismo 3 is, fundamentally, nothing more than a prettied-up port of the PSone's Gran Turismo 2 -- and to an extent, they'd be right. Still, despite its flaws, this is a title that belongs on the shelves of PS2 owners. Period.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start with what Gran Turismo 3 does right -- and it does a LOT right. From the moment you pop the CD in the tray and watch the intro video start to play, you're going to see graphical prowess that is sure to give competing game developers nightmares -- the first third or so of the intro is completely pre-rendered. In fact, you have to look hard to realize that it's not FMV. Of course, the rest of the intro is in-game footage, and while there is a noticeable difference between the pre-rendered stuff and the in-game stuff, it's still close enough that it fooled me the first time I watched it.

Indeed, the graphics are absolutely gorgeous. Even the one thing I DISLIKE about the graphics works well. The dust clouds, which have a flat, 2D look to them when viewed in replay mode, actually do a surprisingly realistic job of obscuring the views of the trailing cars, making it difficult to anticipate upcoming turns or slowing traffic ahead. The lighting effects are superb, whether it's the sunlight filtering through the trees in the forest, or the sunset in the Swiss Alps casting long shadows across the ground. Equally impressive is the attention to detail in the environments -- while the galleries watching the races don't actually move (as far as I can tell, although they DO take pictures), the leaves on the trees flutter individually in the wind, and the cars reflect beautifully off the ground in rainy weather.

Indeed, the cars are in a class all their own. It's true that there are only 150 cars in GT3, down from 500+ in GT2, but what is lost in quantity is more than made up for in quality. Where the cars in GT3 were each comprised of roughly 150 polygons, GT3 sports an impressive 5,000 polygons per vehicle. At one point, Polyphony Digital mentioned that adding each individual car took around a month; right there, that explains why 350 cars fell by the wayside -- there simply wasn't enough time to create them without further delaying the game, something Sony was no doubt eager to avoid. The really interesting thing about the cars is that they accumulate dirt as you drive them, which in turn slows you down. You might not notice it at first, but when you put your car through the car wash, you WILL notice the difference, both in appearance and in performance afterwards. Of course, you'll also notice that the cars have no DRIVERS, but hey -- whaddaya want for 5,000 polygons?